IVINS, Utah — Grace Kim is trying to do something over the weekend at the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion that can be incredibly difficult for professional golfers early in their careers. She’s trying to ignore the voices in her head.

Kim became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei when she was a rookie in 2023, winning a playoff in Hawaii to become the 12th athlete from Australia to hoist at least one trophy on the LPGA Tour. But the young talent hasn’t managed to find the winner’s circle since then, despite coming close several times over the last couple of seasons.

She led by four strokes after 36 holes at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro in 2024 and looked as strong as ever after carding a 64 and 66 to kick off her week in Los Angeles. But Kim squandered her advantage over the weekend at Wilshire Country Club, finishing T25 after rounds of 76-77 derailed her hopes of a second victory.

Something similar again happened to Kim just a couple of months later at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give last season. The 2022 Epson Tour graduate led by a whopping five strokes through three rounds in Belmont, Mich., and again let that substantial lead slip away, carding a Sunday 73 to find herself in a playoff with major winners Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu, one that Vu ultimately won in her first start back from a two-month hiatus she took to deal with an injury.

The Aussie has only been in contention a couple of other times since that frustrating final round at Blythefield Country Club, never playing quite well enough to have a real shot at finding victory lane on the LPGA Tour. But that’s something she will be looking to change over the weekend at the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion.

Through 36 holes in Ivins, Utah, Kim is just a handful of strokes off the pace, currently sitting at 9-under overall. She opened her week in the Beehive State with a 7-under 65, a first-round effort that saw her card one bogey and eight birdies, three of which she recorded consecutively on holes 12, 13 and 14 and three of which came in a four-hole stretch from Nos. 4 to 7.

It was her lowest score on the LPGA Tour since day two of the 2024 Portland Classic, and Kim was incredibly pleased to have carded a round deep in the red early in the week at Black Desert Resort, particularly as she hasn’t been able to do so in quite some time.

“I was talking to my team. This whole year seems like I've struggled a bit the first round,” Kim said after the first round. “Makes my second round obviously a lot more stressful trying to make cuts. I said, I just need like a 7-, 8-under. That would be nice. Got it done today, and definitely feels nice. I can play freely tomorrow. At the same time, I'm still just going to stay in my lane.”

Despite those high hopes and a resounding faith in her game plan, Friday’s second round was a bit more topsy-turvy for Kim, as the 24-year-old had to grind through a front-nine double bogey and fight hard on the back nine to post something under par.

Playing in the morning wave, Kim raced out of the gate with a birdie on the par-4 1st hole to move to 8-under and then slowed with four pars on her next four holes before doubling the par-4 6th hole at Black Desert Resort. Turning in 37 at 1-over on the day, Kim struggled to generate some momentum until she birdied the par-5 13th hole to get back to even. She then threw a one-two punch late, picking up a pair of back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 to climb to 9-under for the tournament, ultimately parring in to post a second-round 70.

And while she was proud of her tenacity on day two in the Utah desert, Kim admitted that things have been tough for her mentally as of late and said that she is working to glean as many positives as she can from her successes on the golf course to assuage the doubtful voices that have recently taken up residence in her head.

“It's been a while since I've been happy with rounds, so just trying to enjoy it in the moment,” Kim said on day two at the Black Desert Championship. “Not too stressed in the head. I think I'm just trying to overcome demons in here [pointing to head], so that's always tough. Trying to play hole by hole. Aggressive but appropriately.

“Knowing anything could happen on this course, all the rocks are really scary out here. You just never know. I think patience was obviously a massive key factor. Made the double, and I just wanted to get it back. Had that aggressive mindset of trying to get it back down. Get rid of the double on the scorecard. Tried to stay patient as long as possible.”

This is Kim’s seventh start of the 2025 season, and in her six previous events, she hasn’t done much of note so far this year, earning a season-best T35 result at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, which is her only top-40 showing in 2025.

Kim now has the opportunity to rectify that fact in Ivins, Utah, as she is only five shots behind 54-hole leader Haeran Ryu with 36 holes to play at Black Desert Resort. She’ll once again play in the afternoon on Moving Day at the Black Desert Championship, and considering her success in the late wave on Thursday and her Australian heritage, as Aussies often know exactly how to tackle windy conditions, Kim is looking forward to the challenge that awaits over the weekend in the Beehive State.

“I guess I’m probably biased, but (Aussies are) all-rounders,” Kim said. “We're used to the links golf courses. We're used to wind, heat. So, just trusting your abilities to be able to hit those lower shots if needed or whatever wedge numbers we need is, I guess, an advantage for us.”

Australian Epson Tour Winner Grace Kim Trying to "Overcome Demons" at Black Desert Championship

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